The shocking photos of the floods in Europe that killed more than 150 people

Western Europe, mainly Germany, is busy this Saturday to clean up the towns flooded with mud and debris, restore electricity and assess millionaire losses, after a destructive flood that killed at least 157 people and whose toll could worsen because there are still people missing.

According to the latest German police report, devastating rains killed 133 people in the country. “But there are fears that the death toll will rise,” said a spokesperson for the police in the city of Koblenz, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate, one of the most affected by the tragedy, with 90 dead.

It is only in this state that there is also “around 618 injured” and those 60 missing.

To this toll are added the 43 deaths recorded in North Rhine-Westphalia, another of the German states hit by the storm.

Little by little, the inhabitants who had to leave, almost on the run, their homes on Wednesday evening are returning home and many discover a sad scene: semi-destroyed houses with walls blown off by force of the current, collapsed trees, swept away vehicles, sunk roads and bridges, or a power cut.

“For 48 hours, we lived a nightmare. We go around in circles and there is nothing we can do», He tells the press agency AFP Cornélia locks, observing the deplorable state of the family bakery in the flood-affected town of Schuld.

“Within minutes a wave entered the house“He adds.

In all the affected towns, firefighters, civil protection services, local authorities and the military have already started the gigantic tasks of clearing the rubble and mud that often clog the streets.

Find the missing

In these regions of western Germany, crossed by the Rhine, the floods were mainly due to small rivers, which left their canal because of the heavy rains and invaded inhabited areas, built in areas that were not suitable for building houses.

“The task is immense», Admitted Tim Kurzbach, the mayor of Solingen, a city in the state of North Rhine-Westphalia. And the scale of the disaster is only glimpsed.

We must replenish the water, assess the damaged buildings, some of which will have to be demolished, electricity, gas and telephones restored, as well as the homes of people who have lost everything.

Disruptions in communication networks, which make many people inaccessible, also complicate the task of establishing a reliable record of missing persons..

And the authorities are always on the alert. In the district of Heinsberg in North Rhine-Westphalia, the retaining walls of a dam gave way on Friday evening and 700 people had to be evacuated.

“We expect to find more victims», Declared Carolin Weitzl, mayor of Erfstadt, near Cologne, where a serious landslide washed away several houses.

The government has also indicated that it is working on the creation of a special aid fund since the losses caused by the floods will amount to billions of euros.

Solidarity is also organized between citizens and appeals for donations are launched throughout the country in addition to the support promised by large companies, such as the car manufacturer Volkswagen.

The losses are “so important that they will keep us busy for a long time“Warned the leader of Rhineland-Palatinate, while the governor of the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, Armin Laschet, assured that the disaster has” a historical scale “.

“Unprecedented”

Laschet, leader of the conservative CDU party and candidate to succeed Chancellor Angela Merkel and favorite in the legislative elections of September 26, asked “pick up the pace“ fight against climate change.

This disaster “changes the electoral campaign” and puts the climate issue at the center of the debate, according to the newspaper Spiegel. “Citizens want to know how their leaders will govern them in situations like this,” he said.

Merkel, who returned from a visit to the United States, also plans to visit the disaster sites soon.

The storm is expected to subside this weekend in the most affected regions of Germany and also in Belgium.

But “we will continue to find catastrophic situations”, predicted the leader of the city of Liège, Christine Defraigne.

In this country, the tragedy caused, in addition to the 20 deaths, as many missing, according to a still provisional and “unpublished” assessment, specified the Prime Minister Alexandre de Croo, which declared Tuesday a day of national mourning. De Croo and the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, will visit the places affected by the floods this Saturday.

(With information from AFP)

(AFP / EFE / REUTERS PHOTOS)

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